So This is Christmas
by ezmac
Summary: Bella had the perfect life. Until she didn't. One man's mistake tears apart everything Bella knew about life and love. Non-Canon start, Canon end; T for now, may change later; AU/AH. Daddyward/Momella.


**So, this is something I started working on during Christmas of '08... Yeah, I know, long time, but after I started it, RL got in the way, and school was a pain and a bunch of other stuff, and I just lost my motivation. After a few months, however, I went back and found it and made a few little changes, and now here I am, after months of random sporadic tweaking, and I've got this going on. This will probably be my main thing. I've only got this chapter so far, but hopefully things will continue to flow for the time being. I'm starting on the next chapter, so that'll be a good work in progress. I only hope you like this.**

**Also, this does start out non-canon, but it WILL end up that way. I don't know how long it will take to get there, but it will, I promise. I only ask that you hold out for me, EB lovers!**

**-erinzomg**

_Summary:_ Bella had the perfect life. She had a husband she knew almost her whole life, an amazing daughter with said loving husband, and an amazing home life. Until she didn't. When her husband's secret is revealed, everything Bella thinks she knows about love and life changes, and she's shaken from the inside out. When she happens across a gorgeous man at the park one day, she gains a second chance at love, and learns some valuable lessons along the way.

* * *

"Mommy, can I please, please, please open just ONE present now? It's Christmas Eve. Please?" Hazel begged me with a pout.

I smiled at my eager daughter softly, unable to resist the pout she'd gotten from me, "Sure, sweetie, but just one, alright?"

She beamed back at me, her dark eyes shining, and then ran to the Christmas tree in the corner of the living room to pick a present to open.

I watched as she examined each of the boxes wrapped in bright colored paper, finding the ones with her name on them and deciding between them.

She was so easy to please. The smallest of gestures could get her smiling warmly, a trait that she hadn't gotten from me, unlike her unfortunate occasional clumsy moments. Poor kid.

I grabbed my mug full of hot chocolate and went to situate myself on the couch to watch her open her present. I had tucked my legs up under myself when she skipped over to me with an elegant looking package in her hands.

"This one's for you, Momma. It's from Daddy," she told me happily.

"Thank you sweetie, but I don't think I can open one of Daddy's presents without him here. Why don't you run upstairs and go get him?"

"Okay!" she hopped up the stairs yelling, "Daddy, come downstairs so Momma can open her present!"

I chuckled at her happy-go-lucky attitude. There was so much of her father in her, if I didn't know she blushed as often as me, or was almost incapable of walking across a flat surface without tripping, I'd think she was completely her father's child. Her dark, almost-black eyes, sleek, shiny black hair, somewhat-tanned skin, and growth rate were completely her father, the man I'd spent the better part of my life with.

My best friend.

My lover.

My husband.

My Jacob.

_Speak of the devil_, I thought to myself as a smiling, shirtless Jacob loped down the stairs carrying a laughing, upside-down Hazel over his shoulder.

Hazel was beating on his lower back with her tiny fists while squealing at him.

"Daddy! Put me down, put me down!"

Jacob chuckled at her antics and teased her some more, "Not a chance, kiddo. I'm having way too much fun." Jacob then proceeded to spin around, while Hazel squealed even louder. I chuckled from my spot on the couch while they "bonded."

Jacob stopped spinning then and turned toward me, seemingly having not noticed I was sitting there, "Hey Bells, didn't see ya there."

"I saw," I replied with a smile, "You seemed to be having more fun with Haze anyway."

Jacob put Hazel back on the ground, and she stumbled slightly before swaying back over to the couch, clutching her head. I laughed openly at her dramatics.

"So tell me, why was I drug out our big, comfy bed by an overexcited five-year-old, hmm?" Jacob asked with a smirk.

I smirked back with, "Because she begged me to let her open just one present before tomorrow morning, and when she handed me a present to open, and I saw that it happened to be from you, I thought it was only fair that you join in the festivities if I were opening your present. And because she loves you."

Jacob moved to stand behind the couch by me and leaned over to kiss my neck a little, "Well, Mrs. Black, that was very considerate of you. I appreciate your thoughtfulness."

His lips ghosted over the skin of my neck, and I smiled while a chill ran up my spine at his tenderness.

"You're very welcome, Mr. Black," I whispered back to him, chuckling.

Jacob kissed me on the temple before making his way around the sofa to sit next to me. He put his arm on the back of the couch around me and pulled me to his strong, muscular body while he traced nonsensical patterns on my shoulder.

"Hey Haze, what do you say you get me a present, too, huh?" Jacob asked our excitable daughter.

"Okay, Daddy," she replied, skipping back over to the tree to find a present for Jacob.

I rested my head against Jacob's shoulder while Hazel brought over a present I recognized as one I helped her wrap, as it was slightly messy and nearly covered in tape.

"Here you go, Daddy. This one's from me. I wrapped it all by myself!" she presented Jacob with the package while I shot her a look and cleared my throat a bit.

"Well, Mommy helped a little, but I did most of it, I promise!"

Jacob looked from me to Hazel to the present then back to Hazel and broke out with a grin, "Well, it looks awesome, kiddo! You did a great job."

I smiled at Jacob's false praise. He was so sweet with Hazel. Not to say he wasn't sweet not with Hazel; he was an extremely sweet person, but he was just exceptionally sweet when it came to his dark-eyed, dark-haired baby girl.

Hazel started jumping up and down asking if it was alright to open her present. I gave her the go-ahead, and she commenced with shredding the paper off the box with near lightning speed.

As soon as she had the paper off, she screamed. Loudly.

"AHHH! The Hannah Montana Concert DVD! THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!" she dropped the movie and attacked Jacob and me, wrapping her somewhat short arms around both of our necks at the same time and squeezing. She still hadn't stopped singing our praises by the time she turned her attention back to the information on the back of the DVD Jacob and I had gotten her. I giggled at her and gave her a real hug.

"Merry Christmas, sweetheart. I love you."

"I love you too, Momma. Merry Christmas. You too, Daddy. Love you."

Jacob brought her in for a hug and kissed the top of her head, "Love you too, kiddo."

Hazel darted up the stairs to go enjoy her new film, leaving Jacob and I alone in the living room on the sofa.

"She is so easy to please," I commented to Jacob quietly.

"That she is. I wonder where she gets it," he responded in all seriousness.

I gaped at him. Surely he knew she got her sunshine and roses demeanor from him.

He turned to look at me, for my lack of response, and, upon seeing my expression, came back with, "What?"

I composed myself quickly, retorting with an, "I wonder also."

He gave me a look, but let it go.

"So, we've still got these present in our laps. What do you say we open them now? I doubt Haze is going to be down for the rest of the night, what with her brand new cinematic adventure and all."

I chuckled at him, "Sure. Go ahead."

He smiled at me before taking his arm back, using it to try to open the box 'o tape Hazel had given him. After a couple of minutes of struggling, he finally managed to get the paper off. His eyes lit up and he smiled softly when he saw what Hazel had gotten him.

"Awh, it's cute. Hazel made this herself?" he asked me.

I nodded with a smile, "Yep, during school one day. She said her teacher said she had the best one out of all the class."

"That's my girl," Jacob beamed.

He got off the couch, holding the precious handmade star ornament in his hand with care to put it on the tree. He didn't have to reach far to put it toward the top of the tree where anyone would see it. He stepped back and stared at the bright yellow star with the picture of Jacob and her I'd taken a couple of weeks back at the park in the middle with a loving expression.

"You're putty in her hands, you know," I lowly to him.

"Yeah, I am. And I love every second of it." He turned around and gave me the biggest smile he had.

I stood up and made my way over to him, wrapping my arms around his torso, burying my face in his chest, "I love you, Jacob Black," I whispered.

Jacob leaned down, burying his face in my hair, wrapping his own arms around me, pulling me closer to him, "As I love you, Isabella Black," he whispered back.

I looked up him, lifting myself up on my toes, just as he bent his head down and captured my lips with his in a sweet, gentle kiss.

"Come on, you still have to open your present," Jacob said once he released my lips.

I nodded and sat back down on the couch, pulling the gift in my lap again and fingering the beautiful package. Its deep red and green striped paper and shimmery golden bow looked almost too perfect to ruin by opening it.

Jacob sensed my hesitation and grabbed the box out of my hand. He lifted the lid on it with no trouble, and I saw that it was a completely separate piece than the rest of the box.

"Oh," was all I could manage. I felt oddly unintelligent at that moment and laughed at myself.

I brought the box back into my lap and stared at its contents: a collection of leather bound, monogrammed copies of all of Jane Austen's novels.

I was speechless.

This was the kind of thing that made me love Jacob more and more each time. He knew me so well. I'd only mentioned once in passing that it would be nice to have a leather bound copy of _Pride & Prejudice_ in October, and he goes one step above and beyond.

How could I not love him?

I gently lifted the collection out of the box as if it was made of glass, and the slightest movement would cause it to shatter. They were so beautiful. The covers were beautifully worn, with the titles printed in sophisticated manuscript. They seemed to be in mint condition. They were wonderful. I loved them. I loved Jacob for giving them to me.

So I did the only thing I could think do to.

I cried.

The silent tears slid down my cheeks, and I still couldn't manage to close my mouth from the time I'd looked in the box. I set the books down next to me and turned to Jacob with a watery smile.

"Jacob..."

He smiled lovingly at me, "I know you said you just wanted _Pride & Prejudice_, but I went ahead and got all of them. I know how much you love Jane Austen. Merry Christmas, baby."

I launched myself at him, still unable to speak. I settled for latching my arms around his neck, pressing myself to him in the biggest hug I could manage. My hand threaded itself into his long, thick hair, playing with the silky black strands. His big arms wrapped around me, rubbing my back a little while he laughed a bit at me.

I moved to kiss any part of him I could reach: his hair, his ear, his neck, anything. I pulled back enough to where I could kiss his face, pressing my lips to his cheeks, his forehead, his nose, and finally his lips, trying to convey how much I loved him with just my actions.

Thankfully, he understood, and kissed me back sweetly and repeatedly before pulling away a couple of inches and resting his forehead against mine so that our noses were touching, "I love you, Bella."

I finally found my voice at that moment, and whispered back to him, "I love you too, Jake. So, so very much." I kissed him again, and then stood up, grabbing my gift.

Jacob stood up also, and, before I could blink, had me in the air in his arms bridal style.

"Jacob! Let go of me, you big lug!" I squealed, laughing.

"Not a chance, Bells. I'm never letting you go," he stated, looking me directly in the eyes with a serious expression. I smiled lovingly back at him, putting my hand to his cheek.

He carried me up the stairs to Hazel's room, where we saw that she'd passed out under the covers with her new movie still playing quietly on her small TV. Jacob reached up, with me still in his arms, and flipped the switch on the wall, turning off the ceiling light, leaving just the moonlight filtering through the window.

I closed the door from Jacob's arms after he'd pulled us out of Hazel's room. Jacob then made his way toward our master bedroom, dropping small kisses on my head occasionally before depositing me on our four-poster queen-sized bed.

He retreated to the bathroom for a moment, and I took that time to place my new books on the shelf against the far wall. I smiled to myself at Jake's kindness.

I slipped my clothes off, depositing all but my underwear into the hamper, and went to find Jake's shirt on the floor before slipping it on.

I'd just lowered the shirt over my stomach when I heard Jake's low voice coming from the bathroom doorframe, "Aw, don't cover yourself up. The less clothes, the better." I noticed his voice had taken on a lower, huskier tone than it normally held, and my heart started beating faster.

"Oh really? And why is that, dear sir?" I asked playfully.

Jake smirked at me, "It's less I have to take off."

It suddenly felt very hot in our room. _Who turned up the heat in here_, I wondered, or if it was just me?

Jake stalked toward me with slow, deliberate steps, while I grabbed onto the post on our bed for support, as my legs suddenly felt jell-o.

His arms slid around my lower back, grazing my ass slightly as he pulled me closer to him.

"Have I ever told you how sexy it is when you wear my clothes, Bella?" he asked huskily. His miraculous hands had, by now, moved slowly up and down my back, massaging slightly.

I could only manage a squeak, then settled for nodding my head slowly, staring up into this hooded eyes through my eyelashes. Every place his hands were touching was setting my body aflame. I was a live wire, a ticking bomb, ready to explode.

He lowered us onto the bed slowly, with care, as if I was breakable. It was why I loved Jake; he treated me carefully, he was always gentle and tender with me. I loved him so.

Slowly, sensuously, our clothes were removed, and we settled into the night together, just Jake and Bella.

Us.

Together.

As we had always been.

As we would always be.

I woke up the next morning in my favorite spot: in Jake's arms, with my head on his chest. One of Jake's arms was around my back, while the other was over his eyes, subconsciously shielding his eyes from the light currently streaming through the window. I smiled and sighed. This was where I always fit, where I had always belonged.

Jake and I had always been friends, and the day he asked me to be his girlfriend was a day I had always suspected would come up. He was never one for subtleties, and he was always an affectionate kind of person. Even when I was telling myself--and Jake, for that matter--that I only liked him as a friend, he would always hold my hand, or put his arm around my waist, or something that always looked like we were dating.

I never really cared, of course. I knew the truth, and Jake knew the truth, so what was the point of constantly correcting people if they were only going to believe what they wanted to believe?

I stretched my arms above my head quietly, making sure not to hit Jake, or wake him up. He looked so peaceful, as he always did after we had sex, and I didn't want to risk stirring him from whatever dream always put the beautiful smile on his face.

With extreme care and quiet, I lifted myself out of Jake's arms, and out of the bed. I tiptoed around the room, picking up stray clothes as I went, before I made my way into the bathroom for a shower. I had no idea what time it was, but I knew that before long, Hazel would be running around like a chicken with her head cut off about getting downstairs and opening the rest of her presents.

The hot water of the shower felt good on my strained muscles. _Jacob sure gave me a work out_, I thought with a ridiculous grin. I let the warmth radiate throughout me, massaging and relaxing the muscles. I grabbed my pouf and my strawberry body wash, squeezing a generous amount on the pouf, before working the soap through, increasing the suds so I could lather my body. The strawberry aroma wafted through my nose, bringing forth a contented sigh from my lips while I worked on cleaning the sweat and grime from my last night's…erm…activites. Swoon.

I quickly worked my shampoo through my hair and rinsed it before I spread my flowery conditioner on my scalp, keeping in mind I had a gorgeous naked man in my bed still asleep that I couldn't wait to get back to. I smiled just thinking about how much I loved him. It felt a bit ridiculous, really, but I couldn't bring myself to wipe the stupid smile off of my face.

I finished in good time, slipping the robe on the back of the door over my nude body after I dried off and quietly made my way back to my husband, who I found swiping a hand lazily across my vacated spot on the bed with a sleepy frown on his face. He was obviously looking for me, so I crept to the bed and moved his hand before slipping back where I had been.

He must have been heard or felt my movement, because he jumped up a bit, lifting his head off his pillow to open his eyes slowly. He seemed confused for a moment, but, after finding me, pulled me against his side and exhaled before flopping his head back to the pillow and close his eyes. I snickered a little bit at his childish actions. He was a heavy sleeper, and it usually took me a half hour to get his huge body out of bed for anything.

I was so busy blatantly ogling my adorable husband's face that I didn't completely notice he had cracked his eye open and was currently watching me with curiosity.

"Hey," he rasped, sleep still evident in his voice.

"Hey yourself, sweet cheeks," I teased. He knew how much I loved his ass.

"You smell good," Jake whispered to me.

I chuckled a bit, "Well, I did go take a shower, so I would hope I smelled good."

That got his attention.

"Shower? Why didn't you wake me up, baby?"

"It was all I could do to get your log of an arm off of my back, let alone wake you up, Jake," I countered.

"Oh. Well, in that case, my apologies. I had no idea my arm caused you so much trouble," he smirked a bit, and I could tell he was just teasing me. I rolled my eyes a bit.

"I need to go check on Hazel, baby. I'll be back in a minute. In the mean time, why don't you get a shower? I don't know about you, but I know I felt all sticky and sweaty from last night," I suggested with a wink and a smirk.

"Sounds good to me," he sighed before rolling out from under the covers, naked as the day he was born. There was no way for me to _not_ ogle the fine piece of man I was blessed with.

He staggered a bit, still trying to wake up fully, but managed to make it into the bathroom without injury. I stayed in the room until I heard the water running before I padded down the hallway to Hazel's room to wake her up. I knew she would want to open the rest of her gifts quickly so she could enjoy her day.

As quietly as I could, I opened the door to Hazel's room to check on her. When I saw that she was still asleep, I gently made my way over to her sleigh-style bed and sat on the edge while I stroked her face a bit, moving her wild hair out of her face.

"Haze," I called, "Hazel, wake up. Come on, Thumper, wake up baby."

She made a small whine of protest, but my gentle calling pulled her slowly from slumber, and her eyelids fluttered open before she saw me.

"Hey sweetheart," I whispered to her, "did you sleep well?"

"Mmhm. I dreamed I was a famous singer, and I was on stage and everybody was cheering for me and it was a really good dream, Mommy," she mumbled to me. I chuckled a bit at her disorientation.

"Come on, baby, let's go open the rest of the presents under the tree and see what you got," I suggested.

She sluggishly pulled her covers off her body and reached for me to pick her up. I obliged and swung her gently into the cradle of my arms. I briefly missed when she could fit in the crook of my elbow. She was so small. I sighed nostalgically before I heard a noise from the doorway. My head turned to locate the sound when I saw Jacob leaning against the door frame with his relaxed arms crossed over, a soft smile on his face, and the bath robe I had given him for his birthday last year. I smiled back before I made my way over to him with Hazel in tow.

She spotted him and mumbled a soft "G'morning, Daddy," to which he pulled her from my arms to give her a hug and a kiss on the cheek with a "Merry Christmas, baby girl." It was obvious how much he loved her, and my heart swelled a bit more for this amazing man I was lucky enough to be married to.

Jacob expertly switched Hazel to his side and held her with one arm, while he took me to his other side with his free arm, not after depositing a sweet kiss on my lips.

"Merry Christmas, Bella."

"Merry Christmas, Jacob."

We made our way downstairs to the living room, and Jacob deposited Hazel on the sofa with me before snatching up several gifts from under the tree and laying them out on the coffee table for us. He took a seat where he always sat, right next to me, and pulled me halfway onto his while settling his arms around my middle with his head resting on my shoulder. Hazel jumped up, suddenly wide awake, and grabbed every present that had her name on it before she was shredding and throwing brightly colored paper everywhere. Jacob and I watched in amusement as she squealed and smiled over the various books, movies, and toys she got.

When she was finished with her gifts, Jacob asked her to go get the rest of them and bring them to us, obviously too lazy to get up and do it himself. I made to smack his chest playfully and scold him a bit, but he gave me his wide sunny grin and I was powerless to do anything except kiss him while Hazel flitted about the room making organized piles of "Mommy gifts" and "Daddy gifts."

Jacob insisted I open my presents before him, to which I reluctantly agreed after a lingering kiss, and moved away from him to gather my gifts. I ended up with an iPhone, some vintage crystal earrings I had had my eye on at a thrift store in town, a pack of glorious editing pens, a blue sweater dress I fell in love with, and a gourmet Spanish cuisine cookbook. Jacob knew me so well.

After I had sufficiently cried and kissed him enough in thanks, I moved out of his way to allow him to gather his presents.

He was happy to get a new case for his iTouch and was shocked to see I had gotten him a silver Seiko watch with a black face and blocks instead of numbers. I had seen him eyeing it in town, even though he thought he was being sneaky. He pulled me into his arms and gave me a hard, passionate kiss for a moment and then released me to check out his new timepiece. I chuckled at his childlike enthusiasm.

"Oh my God, Bella, thank you! I can't believe you got this for me. I—How did you—When did? Ugh! I love you!" He kissed me again, effectively causing me to lose my breath, only separating when he heard Hazel making grossed out noises and laughing at us. "Hush, you. Your mom loves it when I do this, Haze!"

I laughed openly and freely for a moment and then moved to clean up all the paper and bows from the floor. Hazel made herself a present by taking some still-taped paper and connecting the pieces until she had it wrapped around her, to which Jacob plopped a big blue bow on her head.

"Look, Mommy! You've got another present! Open it, open it, open it!"

I decided to humor her and play along for a bit, "Oh my! What could this be! Jacob, I thought you already gave me all my presents!" I turned to him with a playful smile on my face that mirrored his excited expression.

I tugged a bit at the paper surrounding my daughter, letting it fall to the ground before letting out a completely fake, completely surprised gasp, "Oh my! I got a Hazel! Oh, this is the best present ever!"

Hazel laughed and jumped up with her arms outstretched, wanting me to pick her up. I lifted her off the ground and swung her around a little bit, something I did often, as it was one of her favorite "games."

We spun and giggled for a short while before I felt Jacob's chest come up against my back and his arms wrap around both me and Hazel. I guess he wanted to join in the fun.

"Oh, my girls, I couldn't just stand by and let you two have all the fun, now could I?"

In a move like a ninja, he had Hazel turned in my arms so that her back was to my front, and had lifted both of us up into his arms before racing up the stairs and into mine and Jacob's room and depositing up on our bed, a wicked grin on his face, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes…Oh no. I knew that look…

But I was too late.

Jacob had me pinned with his legs straddling me, and his hands dove to my sides, tickling me furiously. I was twitching and guffawing and snorting all over the place trying in vain to get away from Jacob's tickle torture. I tried kicking my legs a bit under him, but he had expertly trapped me under his hard muscled body. I finally resorted to begging.

"Jacob! Oh, please, please stop! It's too much," I laughed to him. I was worried about my robe coming apart and Hazel seeing something she was far too young to witness, "Jake, baby, stop!!" I still had a huge smile on my face as he finally calmed down and just rested his palms on the bed by my sides and lowered his head toward mine. Our lips were just a breath away…

And then Hazel started jumping on the bed.

Our heads bumped, and we started laughing at ourselves for losing ourselves in the moment like we did. But we quickly turned our attention to our silly daughter.

"Hey, kiddo, no jumping on the bed, remember?"

Hazel jumped to her butt, finally settling on the middle of the bed where I had recently vacated, "Sorry, Daddy," he head ducked a bit in remorse.

Jacob lifted her up, falling back onto the bed and playing with her like she was a doll, rather than a living thing, "It's alright baby girl. Just remember not to do it again, 'kay?"

She squealed some as Jacob tickled her sides a bit, just as he did me, "Yes, Daddy, I promise! I won't do it no more! Daddy!! That tickles!"

Jacob plopped her on the bed next to the pillows and kept playing with her a bit more while I went into the closet to pick out some clothes to wear for the day. It was still Christmas, and I was going to make my family a great Christmas breakfast.

I settled on a deep green sweater over a darker red t-shirt with a favorite pair of jeans of mine and some white socks with little candy canes around the edge, as it was more than a little cold for me in the house.

When I came out, Jacob and Hazel had gotten under the covers and were whispering to each other rather loudly for whispering. I chuckled at them and made my way back downstairs to the kitchen to get breakfast started.

I pulled out all the stops: eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns, apple and orange juice, milk, coffee, everything needed for a breakfast for 15, because Jacob would probably eat a whole horse if he was determined enough.

With the smell of any type of sustenance cooking came Jacob and, consequently, Hazel. Jacob immediately wrapped his arms around me from behind and started leaving small kisses on my neck and below my ear, eliciting a small shiver from me while I was finishing plating up the eggs on one plate, bacon and toast on another, and hash browns on a third. Jacob grabbed the containers of juice and milk to put on the dining table, followed by setting plates, silverware, and glasses where our unofficial "spots" at the table were. Hazel, ever helpful, asked if she could bring the butter and jelly for the toast over, to which Jacob warily handed her the small dishes to put on the table. Poor girl had to stand on a chair to reach the middle of the table. She raced back over to the counter to get a roll of paper towels for us, ripping a paper square and placing one on each of the three plates Jacob had set.

I brought the food plates over after turning off the stove, setting the meal down and quickly retracting my hand, as Jacob had suddenly dived for anything he could get his hands on. He piled almost half of the eggs, six strips of bacon, a heaping spoonful of hash browns, and four pieces of toast onto his plate, then turned to the beverages to pout himself a generous amount of milk in a glass and a mug full of coffee, adding some of his glassful of milk into before sipping carefully.

If I had been anyone else but myself, I would have gaped and spluttered at Jacob for getting so much food, but after 14 years together, I accepted this as a normal meal for Jacob. He had eaten more than this on several occasions, not least of which was our wedding reception, when he wasn't making sure I was okay, eating enough, keeping off of my feet enough, and keeping away from the champagne…for reasons other than our age. Oh, the joys of a shotgun wedding. But I couldn't complain. I loved him just as much then as I did now. And I wouldn't have had it any other way. It worked for us.

Hazel and I loaded up our plates—though not quite to the extent of Jacob's—with all the food we wanted, and then we all settled into small conversation about anything and everything.

"So when do you want to head over to Charlie's? I know he's dying to see Hazel again and spoil her rotten with presents she couldn't _possibly_ need," Jacob asked me with a quick wink to Hazel.

"Oh, I think we can head over there at about one. I figure that will give you enough time to take a quick nap while your food digests. What do you think," I responded, "sound good to you?"

He pretended to think about it, finger on chin, lost-in-thought expression on his face before he agreed, "Hmm. Yes, that sounds perfect. Lord knows I'll need to take it easy after all of this awesome food you cooked, baby." He gave me a cheeky wink. I rolled my eyes a little, but smiled to let him know I wasn't serious.

Hazel hopped up to help clean up all the dishes and clear the table and then went up to her room to enjoy some of her presents. I finished up placing the smaller dishes in the drying rack by the sink. I quickly and efficiently cleaned the kitchen and dining room to my satisfaction and then made my way upstairs to relax with one of my new books.

Climbing up the stairs, I glanced at all of the pictures on the wall, ones of me, Jake, Hazel, and any combination of us three in poses ranging from completely goofing off to serious portrait styles. I zeroed in on one of Jake and me while I was pregnant with Hazel, during the last couple of months of my pregnancy. I was sitting with Jake's chest against my back on my old bed listening to old CDs and talking and kissing and touching, and we had fallen asleep (well, I had fallen asleep first, what with being pregnant and all) with both of our hands on my stomach. Jake loved it when he could feel Hazel kicking against me. He said it was one of the most amazing feelings in the world. Charlie had come up to check on me, and when he saw us, he said he just couldn't resist taking a picture of the moment. The sound of the picture being taken had woken me up, and my jerking against Jake consequently woke him up. We had the picture blown up and framed by the next week.

Jake was sleeping on his stomach all sprawled out on his side of the bed and had his foot and arm hanging off the edge of the bed. His mouth was parted a bit, and his face was smoushed against the pillow. He was so adorable when he slept. All the tension and stress from the day melted away while he was sleeping. He was so relaxed.

I pulled my side of the covers back up a little to straighten them out somewhat before flopping down next to Jake. I figured I could get a little bit more sleep in. Charlie's would surely be somewhat exhausting. He always loved to chat with Jake about fishing and sports and how the garage was going.

Jake had owned and operated his own garage The Wolf Pack for the past three years and was fairly successful at what he did. He had clients coming from various different states at times. As well as a few wealthy regulars that had a habit of over-tipping. We had certainly reaped the benefits on that. Within a year and a half of opening his own shop, he had made enough money to buy us each a new car. To celebrate his second year, he bought himself a Chevrolet Avalanche and me a Hummer H3, something I was a bit ashamed to say I had my eye on. I always had a thing for big and powerful things. Or powerful and fast things. But I knew that Jacob could modify any vehicle he bought to almost any specifications he wanted. That meant that my normal 16 miles a gallon was suddenly bumped up to 27 miles a gallon, an astounding feat in the world of Hummer. Hah.

I started reading a bit of _Pride & Prejudice_ when I felt my eyelids getting heavier. I remember meeting Mr. Darcy when I suddenly found myself in a dream involving me, Mr. Darcy, and Jake and a pool table. Weird…

--

"Bella, baby, wake up," I felt Jake gently stroking my arm, bringing me out of slumber, "Come on baby, we need to head on over to Charlie's, baby."

I opened my eyes fully and took in Jake's clean appearance. His hair was wet and pulled back into his signature ponytail. He had changed into a tight fitting vintage Ramones t-shirt and a pair of old frayed jeans. He looked so good it was almost a sin.

I sat up slowly with Jake's hand on my elbow helping me. I yawned a bit and stretched to wake myself up fully and made my way over to the mirror on the closet door to survey the damage I had done to my clothes while I was sleeping. My sweater was a bit wrinkled, but it wasn't anything Charlie would comment on. He would probably chalk it up to carrying a five-year-old.

Jake moved behind me, wrapping his muscled arms around my torso. He dipped his head down to more my level (he was somewhere around a full head taller than me) before he smiled at me through the reflection.

"We look good, baby doll," he said, giving my neck a couple of small kisses. I leaned back into his chest while I smiled hugely at him.

"That we do, Jake. That we do," I replied.

He moved his hands down to my waist and patted my side before pulling me away and out the bedroom door to go collect Hazel and Charlie and Sue's presents.

We had taken two steps out of our room when Hazel burst from her room wearing a red and green jumper over a pink shirt with purple kangaroos all over it, bright yellow socks, and shiny black Maryjanes on her feet.

"I'm all ready! I did good, huh, Momma," she asked me.

I tried to contain my laughter and, after letting a few chuckles out, offered to help her make her outfit even better.

"Come on, sweetie, I'll show you how to make Poppa Charlie see that you're a lady!"

"Awh, sweet!"

I groaned at the exclamation and narrowed my eyes at Jake, "That was all your doing, wasn't it?"

He gave me a cheeky grin, "What can I say, I've taught her well," he laughed.

"Whatever you say, Jacob," I sighed with a smile, "whatever you say."

I got Hazel re-dressed with a long-sleeved white shirt under her jumper, white tights, and a simple pair of black flats on her feet. I sprayed some conditioning spray on her hair and combed it out before I put a silky green headband in her hair, separating her bangs from the rest of her hair. She looked so grown up I felt a few tears pooling in my eyes.

"Come on, baby girl," I sniffed, "let's get going to Poppa Charlie and Gramma Sue's."

"Mommy," she asked me, "are you crying?"

"No baby. Why would you ask," I quickly blinked back the tears and put a gentle smile on my face.

"You looked all sad for a minute, and you sounded all sad and stuff…"she trailed off.

"Oh, honey, you just looked so grown up, I couldn't believe you weren't my little girl anymore. But you still are, so I'm all better, I promise."

"She'll always be our little girl, Bella," Jake called from the doorway. I spun to see him smiling softly at me, his hands in his pockets and his shoulders hunched a little.

"Yeah, I know," I turned to Hazel, "Alright, baby, you ready to go show Poppa Charlie how much of a lady you are?"

"Yeah!"

"Alright, my darling girls, let's go before it gets too late," Jake joked as he pulled Hazel into his arms and me to his side.

Once all the gifts were grabbed, coats were secured, and we were out by the truck, Hazel made a show of putting out her hand so that Jacob could help her into the backseat like she was being driven in a town car somewhere rather than getting into her father's silver Chevrolet Avalanche. I had to chuckle at where she got the gesture. She must have been watching some old movie behind my back, because I certainly didn't teach her that.

Jacob only laughed and made a show of it, "Your carriage awaits m'lady."

"Why thank you Daddy," Hazel replied in a prim tone. It only made me laugh more.

Jacob, having heard my fit, turned to me with a smirk and winked. I rolled my eyes at him.

After getting Hazel all strapped into her booster seat, Jacob closed her door and turned to me.

"Shall I escort you to your carriage as well, miss?"

"No thank you, I'm pretty sure I've got it down," I said with a girlish giggle.

He left the door open for me, and I moved to climb into the truck only to feel Jake's strong hands on my hips, lifting me up higher into the cab. I gasped and flipped my head around to see his gentle smile and loving eyes gazing back at me, and I couldn't help but to melt at the expression. So I smiled and gave him a soft, lingering kiss before sitting completely in the seat and buckling myself up.

Jake jogged around the front of the truck and got in, strapping himself in while turning the keys in the ignition at the same time, and we pulled out of our driveway and headed towards my father's home. Almost immediately, Jake reached over and placed his hand on my knee, rubbing his thumb lightly across my skin.

I smiled to myself at his gesture, turning my head to look out at the familiar scenery, now blanketed with snow. It was such a calming sight. I loved looking at the snow. It made everything seem so gentle, so pure. It made the landscape look like the dreamer's perfect winter dream, and it kind of was, in a way. The tall evergreen branches were somewhat weighted down with the white powder, icicles hung from almost every surface, the snow still falling created a serene kind of atmosphere, it was the picture perfect scene.

* * *

**Alrighty then, I know this is a weird stopping place, but had I kept going, this thing would've been even longer and more stream of consciousness-y than the 11 pages it already was. So. Maybe, if someone will step forward and help me and be my Beta (pleasepleasepleasepleasepleaseplease!) I could fix this, lol.**

**Next chapter: A couple of small looks into the past, and the building of the relationship between Jake and Bella. (Things won't get to be E/B for a while, sorry)**

**Erin  
**


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